{CLOSED} Yoplait Smoothies - Product Review & Giveaway

This giveaway has ended! The winner has been selected and contacted by email and has 48 hours to respond. Once he or she has confirmed, I will post the results. Thank you to EVERYONE who entered!

Remember how I said last week I was having a hard time tracking my food and losing weight? Well, thanks to the package I received from Yoplait Smoothies last week, I'm now headed in the right direction!



About Yoplait Smoothies (information provided by MyBlogSpark):
Including Yoplait Frozen Smoothies in your diet is a quick and easy way to help you get important nutrients, like vitamin C or calcium your body needs. And with seven out of every ten Americans not eating the recommended two to four servings of fruit per day, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies could help you reach that goal.

Each package of Yoplait Frozen Smoothies contains one full serving of fruit (1/2 cup) and 110 to 120 calories per serving. Not only does Yoplait yogurt contain live and active cultures, but when prepared with skim milk and made according to package directions, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies are a good source of calcium. So raise your smoothie glass and toast to a new you!

Found in the frozen fruit aisle of your local grocery store, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies come in four delicious flavors. Be sure to check out the newest flavor, Blueberry Pomegranate, along with other favorites like Triple Berry, Strawberry Banana, and Strawberry Mango Pineapple.

For the purposes of this review, I tried the Strawberry Mango Pineapple flavor. Each package makes two servings, so I shared with Scott and we were both very pleased with the taste. In fact, being the smoothie lovers we are, the next day we had smoothies from a local smoothie shop and I still thought the Yoplait smoothies tasted better!

Yoplait Smoothies are also incredibly easy to make! I don't have a blender, but I do have a Magic Bullet, and was still able to make them without any trouble. I added the smoothie package and one cup of skim milk to the Magic Bullet cup, turned it on, and in just about 60 seconds I had two delicious smoothies ready to drink!

I did notice on the label that this product is sweetened with sucralose, an artificial sweetener. I typically avoid artificial sweeteners (not due to the taste, but for other reasons) but Scott uses Splenda. In spite of sucralose being an ingredient, I wanted to try the smoothies, and I'm glad I did. I didn't notice the artificially sweetened taste like I do in some products, either. It tasted perfectly sweet without any artificial sweetener aftertaste.

Note to my vegetarian friends: If you are abstaining from gelatin as part of your vegetarianism, please be advised that these smoothies do contain gelatin. I don't completely abstain from gelatin (though I do limit my intake), but I know many vegetarians do, so I wanted to put that out there.

The package I received also came with a drawstring bag, a fitness & diet journal, and an aluminum water bottle (pictured below). I have to say, I have already gotten a ton of use from the journal and water bottle. Remember how last week I said I was having trouble tracking my calories? This journal has been a great solution to that. The water bottle is great too - it seals well, doesn't leak and I can take it everywhere to make sure I stay hydrated.



Want to win a Yoplait smoothie prize pack just like mine? MyBlogSpark has graciously allowed me to do a Yoplait Smoothie giveaway! It will come with a coupon for a FREE package of Yoplait smoothies (Up to $3.88), a drawstring bag, fitness journal, and water bottle. Here's how to enter!

MANDATORY ENTRY: (This must be done before any other entries)
Follow me on Google Friend Connect (left sidebar) AND visit the Yoplait Smoothies website and comment with one thing you learned.

Extra Entries (Optional): (Please leave an extra comment for each entry)

• Comment and tell me how you could use Yoplait Smoothies as part of your menu plan!
• Like Yoplait Smoothies on Facebook (you can get a coupon for doing this, even if you don't win my giveaway!)
• Follow Yoplait Smoothies on Twitter
• Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Facebook (this blog, NOT my personal page -- I love you guys but my personal page is for real-life friends and family only)
• Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Twitter
• Follow Angelica's Awesome Adventures on Networked Blogs (left sidebar)
• Tweet about this giveaway - can use the following tweet: (Good for one entry DAILY)
  

Enter to #win a Yoplait Smoothie prize pack from @angelicasmommy http://ow.ly/3Nw8J #giveaway #myblogspark

• Post this giveaway to a giveaway linky (comment with a link back to the linky) -- MUST be a giveaway linky and not a regular or blog hop linky that this giveaway is not already posted on. (1 entry per linky post)
• TWO Bonus Entries: Add my button to your blog and leave a link where I can find it!
• THREE Bonus Entries: Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post.

Please leave your email address in your comment or make sure it is visible in your profile!

Contest ends on February 10, 2011 at 9 PM EST. Open to US Residents only and the prize cannot be mailed to a P.O. Box. Winner will be chosen by random.org and contacted via email. Winner must respond within 48 hours of the email being sent or another winner will be selected.

Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this review in any way. Yoplait provided me with the review package through MyBlogSpark. Prize fulfillment will be handed through MyBlogSpark as well. Thanks to Yoplait and MyBlogSpark for providing the review package and giveaway prize! All content in this review is my opinion.

Angelica Meets Angelica...

...as in, Angelica Pickles.

We didn't choose her name because of this Rugrats character, though believe me, I was asked that a lot when I was pregnant with her. In fact, I hadn't even thought about the character until I was about six months pregnant and I was on a pregnancy message board and we were talking about baby names and another mom-to-be said that name always made her think of Angelica Pickles.

To which I thought "Oh, crap." Because really, that character is such a brat! Fortunately, my Angelica is not as bratty.

So this weekend, I woke up to Angelica and Scott watching Rugrats. Angelica points to the TV and said, "Look Mommy, it's Angelica, her names the sames as mines!"

She now has a new favorite TV show! She doesn't even know it's called Rugrats, she just asks to watch "the one with Angelica in it".

After we got home from church and the farmer's market yesterday, we were watching an episode (hoping to wind her down so she'd take a nap -- FAIL) and I said, "Is that Angelica on TV nice?" She shook her head no, so I asked, "Are you a nice Angelica?" and she shrugged. So I told her she was a very nice girl. And she smiled.

So help me if that bratty TV character rubs off on my little angel though!

5 Question Friday, Sponsorship, and Friendly Friday {Linky}

Here's another GREAT Five Question Friday! But before I get started, I just wanted to let you all know that I've got a new blogging buddy! Three Ps in a Pod has featured my blog in a Sponsor Spotlight! I'm really excited about this. Tara has a great blog and her son, Carter, is absolutely precious!

At the end of this post, I'm also hosting the Friendly Friday linky, so if you haven't already linked up on another blog, feel free to link up here! And if you follow my blog, leave me a comment letting me know and I'll follow back!

Finally, make sure you get those entries in for the $45 CSN Stores gift certificate! It's open to residents of US and Canada and ends this coming Monday, 1/31 at 9 PM EST!

On to Five Question Friday!



1. If you had $1,000 to donate to a charity, which would you choose?
I would give it to Standing on the Side of Love. The best description of the organization is from their website's About page: "Standing on the Side of Love is a public advocacy campaign that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression. It is sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association and all are welcomed to join." Those who know me well know that I believe strongly in equal rights for LGBT. I truly believe that I cannot consider myself "free" until everyone in our country shares the same rights that I do, regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other factor. Standing on the Side of Love advocates that stance and does a really great job, even though the organization is only just over a year old.

2. Snow days: Do you welcome them happily or are they a pain in your butt?
Snow days? In Florida? Yeah that doesn't happen. Though I have lived through a few hurricane days and those were a royal pain in my butt.

3. What talent did you wish you had and why?
I wish I could draw. I'm a fairly creative person, but my drawing skills are just not that great. I'm not at the level of only being able to draw stick figures, but I couldn't draw a portrait either.

4. Are you a news, politics or celebrity gossip junkie?
As I'm sure you guessed from the answer to the first question, I am a very left leaning liberal democrat and a complete political junkie. While most women I know watched baby shows or soaps or other more light-hearted things on maternity leave, I was glued -- literally, glued -- to MSNBC. If the TV was on, it was on MSNBC. And now that my kid is older, if I ever get a chance to watch TV, a lot of the times it's on MSNBC too. So yeah, I guess you could call me a political junkie.

5. What is your favorite "cocktail"? (Are you a beer person, a kiddie cocktail junkie, or perhaps your more the "Cosmo" kind?! Anything flies...doesn't hafta be alcoholic!)
I'm pretty boring and not much of an alcohol drinker, though when I do drink, it's either vodka and cranberry juice or white wine. I used to love red wine but I started to get red wine headaches so I just don't anymore. Red wine is tasty, and healthy in small portions but not worth the skull-crushing pain.




Other great Friday blog hops!

Angelica doesn't want to go to school!

This morning the cat had to go back to the vet for another check-up (she's fine) so Scott took her -- which meant I had to take Angelica to daycare. (I don't want that to sound like a chore...I love dropping her off!)

So as usual I'm running a little late. Not as late as usual, but still a bit late. I had gotten Angelica through breakfast and into her shoes and while I finished packing my lunch, she played with her toys and when I said it was time to go, I hear her yell something. I couldn't quite understand so I said, "What?" and she came running down the hall...

"My tummy hurts!"
"Oh no, do you need to throw up?" I asked her. (Since her tummy bug last month she's terrified of throwing up and usually will say she doesn't need to.)

She paused for a moment and thought about it. And then said,
"Yeah Mommy, I need to throw up."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"No, I just don't wanna go to school!" She said.

So I picked her up and carried her out the door, which she responded to me by saying, "You're apastabowl!" ("Apastabowl" is Angelica-speak for "Impossible"...no idea where she picked that up but it's actually kind of cute!)

I'm telling you, this child is going to give a run for my money once she hits her teens. I say that all the time but I am already scared for my sanity!

{Linky} Got Toys? Thursday Toy Giveaway Link-Up, 1/27

Welcome to the Got Toys? Thursday Giveaway Link-Up!

This link-up is designed to promote your giveaways for children's toys! When I'm searching around the blogosphere for giveaways, I love having the chance to win something for my daughter to play with -- and she loves getting new toys!

So, chances are, if you add your giveaway here, you'll get at least one entry -- from me!

Rules for the linky:
There is only one! Your link MUST go directly to a giveaway for a children's toy. Links that go to a blog's homepage, non-toy giveaway, or linky (if there is no giveaway included in that post) will be removed.

I'd also love it if you followed me on Google Friend Connect, Twitter, or Facebook to be reminded when this goes live each week. (This is not mandatory, just a suggestion!)

Aside from that, feel free to link up as many toy giveaways as you have! Oh, and enter some too!

Speaking of love? If you love this post, feel free to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or on Google Friend Connect (right sidebar).

Thanks for playing! Good luck with your giveaways!

Wordless Wednesday: 365 Days of Angelica Jan 19-25 {Linky}

January 19, 2011

January 20, 2011 - She wasn't falling, she was grumpy because she was sick

January 21, 2011 - Still sick :(

January 22, 2011 - feeling much better!

January 23, 2011 - her smile gives away that she's "pretending" to sleep

January 24, 2011

January 25, 2011 - doesn't your toddler eat breakfast on the coffee table too?

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, check out The Life of Rylie...and Bryce Too!, The Florida Hogans, and Shibley Smiles!

Running My Butt Off: Week 4 {Linky}

Well, let's get this part out of the way:
Week 1: 257
Week 2: 254 (-3)
Week 3: 254 (-0)
Week 4: 254 (-0)

Another week of running in place.

I'll admit right now that I had quite a bit of a breakdown last night when I got on the scale for a "preview" of what this morning would bring. I know myself well enough to know that I have a very, very hard time sticking to weight loss plans for an extended length of time. Aside from the running I did last summer, and some tremendous success I had about 12 years ago (I lost 80 pounds and within the last 12 years I've gained that back and a whole lot more) I have not been able to stick to anything.

So, that brought on the breakdown. Another thing I'm not good at is asking for help, but last night I did. I told Scott how frustrated I was and how I needed support and he jumped right on board. We went to the kitchen and disposed of or marked for donation any junk food that was in the kitchen...which really wasn't much, we eat healthy, it's portion control that's the problem. I made a big donation to the food donation box this morning.

And, today, I'm back to eating healthy and exercising.

I don't know what the next week will bring, but I have a feeling it's going to be much better than this one.

Got a weight loss, health, or exercise post? Link it up below!

Somewhere out there...

Last night, Scott asked me, "Do you ever just look at the pictures of Angelica on the wall and think about how beautiful she truly is?" To which I replied, "Of course!" Because I like to think she is the most beautiful little girl in the world!

I followed that by saying, "One day, she is going to make some poor guy so miserable!" Between her good looks and fiery spirit, you can count on that. But then with her sweet ways and generous heart, she'll be a fantastic partner as well.

Scott then burst into song, singing Pat Benetar's "Heartbreaker".

I got to thinking after that, though...somewhere out there, right now, there is some little boy who is building block towers and making his mommy crazy with temper tantrums who doesn't even know that one day he's going to fall in love with her. And likewise for her. She can make me tear my hair out on a regular basis and melt my heart with her cuteness, but she doesn't know that one day she'll be driving that little boy crazy and melting HIS heart with her cuteness.

It's just kind of sweet to think about. Because one day, several years ago, that was me and Scott. :)

Hey, Mom!

Today may go down in history as the first time I have been genuinely annoyed by my daughter begging for attention. Literally, every twenty seconds from the moment she woke up until the moment she went to sleep, she said, "Hey Mom!" So my day pretty much went like this?

"Hey Mom?"
"What dear"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What's up honey?"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"Hey MOM!"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What dear"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What's up honey?"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"Hey MOM!"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What dear"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What's up honey?"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"Hey MOM!"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What dear"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What's up honey?"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"Hey MOM!"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What dear"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes?"
"Hey Mom?"
"What's up honey?"
"Hey Mom?"
"Yes dear?"
"Hey MOM!"
"Yes, sweetheart?"

Only about one out of twenty times did she actually want something. The other 19 times she just wanted me to say "What?"

I also want to know when I became "Mom" and not "Mommy". She went from saying Mommy and Daddy to Mom and Dad on Friday.

I love my little girl so much but I am so glad to have a break from "Hey, MOM!" for the rest of the evening!

Otherwise, we had a great day! Angelica's finally feeling 100% again, so we went to the grocery store, played outside, went to the mall, rode the mall choo-choo train, played on the mall playground, played with toys and read books. I love our weekends!

Working while the kiddo is sick...

Today was kind of a tough one for me. Yesterday I got to stay home with Angelica while she was sick. Yesterday she woke up running a fever with a bad cough, so we stayed home and watched movies and ate soup and snuggled. She usually bounces back quickly, so I was kind of surprised when she was still sick today. I only have one sick days left until August, so in the interest of saving it, Scott took over and stayed home.

So naturally, being a mom, I worried about Angelica all day.

She was fine. When I walked in the door she shouted, "Mommy! You're home!" Would you believe I actually got a hug and a kiss? TWO kisses? She is normally so reserved with her affection that I was really pleasantly surprised.

It's not that I don't trust Scott to take care of her...quite the contrary, he's really quite an awesome dad and I wouldn't trust her with anyone else. It's just the feeling that I wasn't fully there for her that left me feeling kind of sad. She's doing much better...running a low fever and still has a cough but better. (The after hours pediatrician is getting a call tomorrow if she's STILL feverish, though!) They had a great day together, evidenced by the arts and crafts supplies strewn about the house and the mountain of toys and books we cleaned up before bedtime.

It's just that mom guilt. She hardly ever gets sick, and this was the first time I've had to be at work while she was home sick. And it was tough to be away from her.

My poor sick baby, sleeping, being comforted by Mindy. From my day at home with her.

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Winner! Boogie Wipes Giveaway

Congrats to susansmoaks, entry #116! You were chosen at random to win the Boogie Wipes giveaway!

Susan's entry was drawn from random.org:

The entry was:

Congrats! The winner has been contacted by email and has 48 hours to respond.

If you didn't win this one, you still have a chance to win on Angelica's Awesome Adventures! Make sure you enter my awesome $45 gift certificate to CSN Stores, which ends 1/31 at 9 PM EST. Good luck and thank you so much to EVERYONE who entered!

Five Question Friday: January 21, 2011

Happy Friday! It's 5 Question Friday once again...thanks goes to Five Crooked Halos for hosting this link-up! It's been quite a busy week for us and ultimately is ending with Angelica being sick with a cough and a fever. I was home with her yesterday and even though she was pretty miserable most of the day, I loved being able to hold and comfort her. Scott is taking a turn today so that I can get caught up on what I missed yesterday. Hopefully my poor baby girl gets to feeling better by tomorrow so we can have a fun-filled weekend!

Speaking of fun-filled, make sure you check out my giveaways! I have a Boogie Wipes giveaway ending at 9 PM EST TONIGHT and a $45 Gift Certificate to CSN Stores giveaway ending on the 31st.

Also, if you're running a toy giveaway, it's not too late to add it to my Got Toys giveaway linky! A new one will go up next Wednesday at 9 PM.

Now, on to the Five Question Friday Fun!



1. Where did you meet your spouse and did you instantly know it was love?
We met on the internet back in the days when AOL was all the rage (ten years ago this March)! I don't know that I instantly knew it was "love", but he and I both felt an instant connection with each other, like "soulmates" or kindred spirits, if you believe in that sort of thing. Ten years later we still feel it, so I guess that connection was a true one!

2. What is your favorite room in your house?
This may be a cop-out, but I'm going to say none of the rooms are my favorite. I love our back yard because it's big and fenced in, has a swing set for the kiddo and lots of shade (important in the summer in Florida)! The house itself is a rental, it's very small, and the interior needs some work...the carpet is ancient, the cabinets and tile are about as old as the house is (30 years) and the bathroom is tiny. But, it's affordable and is definitely helping us with our debt snowball!

3. Can you wiggle your ears?
Nope :) And yes, I just tried.

4. What is your evening ritual?
I leave work and pick Angelica up from daycare. We get home and play for about a half an hour, then I put on a movie for her while I cook dinner. Then Scott gets home (and if we've played too long, HE cooks dinner...LOL) and then we eat. Then we alternate nights...one of us will do her bathtime and story while the other washes dishes (no dishwasher for us). Then I tidy up the house, work on the blog for a bit, shower, and eventually we settle in to watch some TV before going to bed. Lately I've been trying to work exercise into the evening ritual as well...

5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
This is a dangerous question, my friend. I am one of those people who would sleep forever if I could. I take every opportunity for a nap that presents itself. Yesterday, when Angelica napped, I did too. When I told Scott about this, he laughed and said, "Of course you did!" and called me predictable. Harumph. (LOL) I'd say I need about 10 hours, but I normally get 5-6.

{Linky} Got Toys? Thursday Toy Giveaway Link-Up, 1/20

Welcome to the FIRST Got Toys? Thursday Giveaway Link-Up!

This link-up is designed to promote your giveaways for children's toys! When I'm searching around the blogosphere for giveaways, I love having the chance to win something for my daughter to play with -- and she loves getting new toys!

So, chances are, if you add your giveaway here, you'll get at least one entry -- from me!

Rules for the linky:
There is only one! Your link MUST go directly to a giveaway for a children's toy. Links that go to a blog's homepage, non-toy giveaway, or linky (if there is no giveaway included in that post) will be removed.

Aside from that, feel free to link up as many toy giveaways as you have! Oh, and enter some too!

Speaking of love? If you love this post, feel free to follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or on Google Friend Connect (right sidebar).

Thanks for playing! Good luck with your giveaways!

Wordless Wednesday: 365 Days of Angelica Jan 12-18

January 12, 2011

January 13, 2011

January 14, 2011

January 15, 2011

January 16, 2011 - At Rylie's 3rd Birthday!

January 17, 2011

January 18, 2011

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, check out The Life of Rylie...and Bryce Too!, The Florida Hogans, and Shibley Smiles!